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10 National School Therapists Share How They're Preparing for the New School Year
More in School
Back to School: Your Healthy Kid Toolkit
At Home and Afterschool
Back-to-School Planning Guide
School-Day Structure
Choosing a Backpack
Homework Schedules
Time of Firsts
First-Day Rituals
First-Day School Signs
First-Day Nerves
Culturally Affirmative Schools
After-School Question
Preschool Checklist
Easing Anxiety
Behavior Improvement
New Etiquette
Supporting Success
Detaching from Quarantine
Distanced Learning Impact
Socializing This Year
Nutritious Breakfasts
Leah Campbell
Leah Campbell is a full-time parenting and health writer and has written extensively on the topics of infertility, adoption, and parenting. She is a single mom by choice and author of the book "Single Infertile Female."
Verywell / Christian Alzate
For our Perspectives series, we are interviewing diverse school therapists from around the country on how they're preparing for the 2021-2022 school year.
Heading into the 2021-2022 school year, parents, students, and educators alike are feeling the pressure for a return to normal. The last year and a half has seen students removed from their classrooms and placed in front of screens instead, all while having to process the loss of loved ones, the loss of family income, and separation from their friends and school.
Educators are working hard to prepare for the challenges the year ahead may bring. In order to get a better idea of what guiding students through those challenges may look like, we spoke to school guidance counselors, occupational therapists, and speech therapists about how they are preparing for the year to come.
Kathleen Walls
Position: Psychologist and director of a school-based behavioral health team
State of Residence: Pennsylvania
Accreditations: Psy.D
Worth Noting: Author of multiple books
What Needs Do You Anticipate Students Having?
Some students will feel anxious or overwhelmed about their reintegration into the classroom, meeting new peers, relearning expectations and regulations, and dealing with social nuances. For some students, returning to the school building and the classroom allows them to return to a safe place and provides them an opportunity to share information that they have been holding onto and keeping to themselves.
As an inner-city public charter school located in the city's busiest police precinct, Southwest Leadership Academy (SLA) students face many challenges that our neighboring suburban school districts, and in fact, many other schools throughout Philadelphia, do not experience.
Southwest Philadelphia has been rocked by the city's exponentially escalating gun violence. Students have heard gunshots, witnessed violent criminal actions, or seen police activity regarding the crime. Many of the same students have seen social unrest rage out of control. The students also became acutely aware of social injustice involving the police.
As a result of these factors, many students were not permitted to participate in routine activities such as walking to the store or going outside. Loss of everyday freedoms can be devastating for preteens. Thus, the return to school is also a return to socializing.
The African American community has suffered disproportionately more from the pandemic. Many SLA students live below the federal poverty level, which means they reside in a community where nearly every child has a loved one or knows someone who has either been stricken with or died from COVID-19 complications.
How Do You Plan on Meeting Those Needs?
SLA hosts an annual "Mental Health Week" to educate the SLA community members (i.e., students, staff, and families) about mental health, provide them with self-care tools, and make them aware of resources within and outside of the school. Because we reopened under a hybrid model on April 19, 2021, we were able to collect critical information that has informed our actions for the upcoming school year.
Thus, "Mental Health Week," which was initially slated for the end of September, has been moved to the beginning of the school year due to the many social-emotional challenges associated with returning to school after a long separation. The SLA Behavior Health Team (BHT) recognizes that members of the SLA community will have a variety of thoughts and feelings as they return to the school building and begin interacting with others on a regular basis.
School administrators, along with the BHT, will provide a space during professional development for teachers and staff to address their concerns prior to the students' return. Professional development sessions will also highlight social-emotional and mental health topics such as separation anxiety, social anxiety, and performance anxiety.
The BHT also wants to be sure our teachers and staff are trauma-informed and cognizant of potential mental health issues and/or other serious problems stemming from being isolated during the pandemic, as well as possible exposure to different types of abuse, social injustices, and community discord. The BHT looks to create opportunities to bring social-emotional health and mental well-being to the forefront of professional development and the SLA community as a whole.
What Are You Hoping to Accomplish?
With the return to school and the unknowns of what individuals experienced over the past year, we are making the above changes to assist in the overall health and well-being of the SLA community members. Mental Health Week will allow us to discuss and address possible fears, nervousness, and anxiousness schoolwide.
The program also reminds the community that it is "okay" to experience these thoughts and feelings and provides community members with in-school and outside-of-school resources to assist in their overall social and emotional health. As challenges emerge, with the return, the BHT is prepared to assess and thoroughly address each of these challenges so that the students can focus their minds on learning.
Whitney Delmore
Position: School counselor and social worker
State of Residence: Louisiana
Accreditations: MSW, LMSW
What Needs Do You Anticipate Your Students Having?
With 100% in-person learning, that also opens the door for more student crises since we are dealing with students who have been away from school and perhaps social surroundings for so long and it might be a readjustment to them.
To prepare for this, I developed a Crisis Team and appointed a group of staff members to serve as the Crisis Team Members. Social-emotional learning (SEL) support is an important piece of our scholars' success and overall well-being.
As I look back on how different the 2020-2021 school year has been, I am using those experiences and hiccups to prepare for the 2021-2022 school year. As a second-year school counselor and social worker, I've learned the key to preparing is pre-work: calendaring, writing down ideas, and laying out the pre-plans of the upcoming school year. Another key is thinking and planning on your feet or in the moment because after what we've learned from this past year, anything can happen and we have to be prepared for anything.
Transitioning to 100% in-person learning here in Louisiana gives us counselors the opportunity to provide extensive SEL Support. We have implemented a program, Move This World, that we will now focus more on in classrooms. In preparation for overseeing this program as well as ensuring our teachers are implementing the curriculum, I have scheduled time for observations and weekly updates to all staff at our campus.
In addition, student check-ins and group pre-work includes creating check-in documents for students on my caseload and developing content and curriculums for student groups.
As one of our new core values states, We Spread JOY! Student and family engagement activities are another component that continuously requires pre-work. Preparing for student and family engagement activities for the upcoming school year includes scheduling and locking in events and activities in advance with my IDEA Bridge Team as well as developing creative ideas.
This ensures that our scholars are having fun at school while learning through these activities and events that can also include family. Our student and family engagement events also allow us to address the needs of our families such as food insecurity, clothing, housing, and gives us a chance to connect families to community-based resources.
Soon the halls of IDEA Bridge will be filled with scholars eager to learn, I am beyond excited to bring a little JOY throughout the school year!
Alison Hickman
State of Residence: Ohio
I'm working on identifying and implementing ways for the students to relax and recharge by engaging in self-care. This also means supporting the teachers in this effort as well. Taking care of ourselves is one of the best ways to help our students.
I plan on reviewing data from the past few years to identify ways the counseling program can become more efficient and effective in its day-to-day work with students. What are the trends and patterns we're seeing in student needs? What interventions worked/didn't work? What small changes can we make that will have a positive impact on our students?
I'll be pursuing professional development to learn new skills to bring back to the school, share with colleagues, and use in my daily work with students.
Taylor Nelson
Position: School counselor and academic coach
State of Residence: Virginia
Accreditations: Ed.D
After a year of hybrid learning and too many Zoom meetings, the constant change has affected the students and it has affected the staff as well.
In order to be an effective school counselor, I must be the best version of myself professionally and personally. Taking the summer to regroup and practice self-care is essential for school counselors before entering the 2021-2022 school year.
As I mentally prepare for the start of school, I am constantly wondering how can I be there for students who haven't even entered our school before or students who haven't talked to a member outside their family in over a year. Therefore, I added more fidget tools to my office and signs that express that perfectionism is not the goal, showing up and trying your best is.
I'm prepared to offer a safe space for students who need to debrief, process their school day, and talk through skills to help them be successful. It is going to be a difficult year for many, but the opportunity to help my students build resilience is a privilege.
Barron Whited
Position: School counselor
Accreditations: MS Ed.
I'm creating surveys for students to see what workshops and careers they are interested in so I can provide this information for them.
I'll be establishing a list of resources that can provide emotional support for students.
One of my goals is to develop support groups such as Young Fathers Support Groups and Grief Supports.
Nicole Sedan and Monica Jackman
Position: School speech-language pathologist and occupational therapist who work closely together to provide students with integrated services
State of Residence: Florida
Accreditations: Nicole Sedan, MS, CCC-SLP; Monica Moore Jackman OTD, MHS, OTR/L
The uncertainty that is characteristic of the school environment has been amplified even more during the COVID pandemic. Now, we are focusing on preparing ourselves emotionally to fully be present and open for our amazing students and the resilient teachers who have overcome incredible obstacles the past year.
Years ago, we would develop painstakingly planned lessons to prepare for the new school year, but never got to fully implement them because we would instead find ourselves meeting students right where they were, by creating and providing therapeutic activities in context to respond to their evolving needs and emerging strengths.
Over the years we began to develop tools, strategies, and evidence-based therapy practices that could be individualized and modified to ensure the inclusion of kids of all abilities, interests, and cultures and used to support success with ever-changing social and academic challenges.
We have learned that when we fully listen, when we are mindful and aware, when we follow their lead, that is all the preparation we need to help our students feel connected, engaged, appreciated, and successful.
Marie Kueny
Position: Licensed school counselor
State of Residence: Wisconsin
Accreditations: MS in Educational Psychology
Worth Noting: Founder and CEO of Compassionate Educators
The ever-increasing rate of trauma that families and children have and continue to experience from the lockdowns, loss of income, lack of access to basic resources such as food and medical care, in addition to many children being isolated from friends, family, and community supports, means that we need trauma-informed environments and social-emotional learning at unprecedented levels.
To prepare ourselves for this year, it is especially important to plan for support and self-care. The pandemic left many teachers more isolated than ever before while work-life balance became nonexistent as the classroom and homes collided into one space.
Creating an intentional plan can make a big difference in our mental health. This includes putting self-care onto our calendars and making it as much of a priority as getting grades done. For me, prioritizing myself means making family time on the weekends a non-negotiable, getting as close to 6-8 hours of sleep as possible every night, and doing one small thing each day that makes my heart smile. When I plan my week in advance with my own needs in mind, I can show up more present and attentive for my students.
Academically, I am expecting wider achievement gaps which means preparing for differentiation across all levels, grades, and subjects. Flexibility will be our best friend as we model adaptability. I once had a friend who lived by the motto, "Prepare for the worst, but expect the best." I believe that phrase will serve as well as we prepare for whatever the new year brings.
This year will not be "business as usual," but maybe that is ok. Maybe it's a time for us to reset priorities and make sure that our personal needs are being addressed along with paying diligent attention to our students' well-being.
Raven Shelton
Position: High school site manager
State of Residence: New York
Accreditations: LMSW
Students will be re-entering buildings with additional emotional baggage. I anticipate an increase in anxiety (the CDC explained that to be safe you need to keep your distance and now we are coming back into a school building surrounded by others), depression (feeling defeated in completing schoolwork), and students struggling to engage in person with teachers and peers.
2020 has definitely reshaped our NYC School System as well as our student's outlook on life. One way I am preparing for the upcoming school year is by offering additional support groups for students—specifically for those who have lost a friend or relative due to COVID. Within these groups I plan to provide psychoeducation on coping with loss, understanding grief, and creating a community where students can support one another.
I am also preparing to provide resources on social-emotional learning to teachers on how to create an emotionally positive classroom.
Sarah Harell
After a rough and uncertain year, we are being intentional about making sure our students have all needs met inside and outside of the classroom.
We will continue to implement our SEL curriculum, Move This World, which helps our students learn to process their emotions and develop coping skills as they adapt to the twist and turns of life. We are also preparing to meet the basic needs of our students and families by securing food bags, personal hygiene kits, and clothing for the upcoming year. Lastly, we have developed a calendar of community, student, and family engagement events to build community beyond the classroom.
Aside from SEL, our schools will also still be taking COVID seriously and implementing safety measures such as:
Masks highly encouraged and recommended while on campus and the bus
Hand sanitation before entering buildings and throughout the school day
Sanitation of frequently touched surfaces
Social distancing to the extent possible
Requesting that families self-screen at home and report COVID-19 symptoms and/or test results before coming to school and stay home if exposed, symptomatic or positive
Fostering two-way communication with families
CDC recommended air filtration upgrades including the installation of ionizers (air purifiers) across campus, upgraded MERV filters and increased outside air intake
One of the calendared events I am most excited about is "Challenge Day," which will be our first year participating in the international initiative. "Challenge Day" is a day designed to ignite a school culture where students feel safe, loved, and celebrated.
Our goal is to build empathy while shifting students toward school connectedness and inclusivity. This event will take place in the first week of school and it will be a pivotal moment in creating a collective healing circle for students and staff after returning from a very difficult year.
As the school social worker, I am confident this school year will be one of the best years ever. We are focused, ready, and excited.
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What to Expect From Universities in the Wake of COVID-19
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Here's How Kids Benefit From International Cuisine Lunch Options
How to Rekindle a Relationship With an Estranged Family Member
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Parents and Experts Weigh In On the Debate to Mandate Masks in Schools
9 Questions: Andrea "L.A." Thoma Gustin on Her Difficult Pregnancy
My Kid is Headed Back to School This Fall: Should I Be Concerned?
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How Instagram Psychologist Dr. Becky Lets Go of Parenting Mistakes


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Adam Thompson is a co-founder of JoinedUp. A high-growth, pure technology company providing cutting-edge, mobile-first software to transform the way end hirers and agencies manage their mix of high volume permanent and temporary staffing. Acquired by Beeline in 2021, JoinedUp is now part of a broader end to end suite of workforce management solutions. Adam and his co-founders grew JoinedUp out from their similar platform called the Driver Exchange that specialised in the workforce management of fleet drivers. The platforms won several awards including Motor Transport's Best Use of Technology award in 2017 and TALiNT Partners' Workforce Management Solution of the year in 2020. Before the Driver Exchange, Adam co-founded and owned Milestone Operations Ltd which he built to over £50m of annual sales and sold to Staffline Plc in September 2015. During Adam's time owning and running the business, Milestone was chosen by the London Stock Exchange as one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic SMEs in the UK and included in their 2015 report "1,000 companies to inspire Britain". Milestone also won Recruiter's "Best Temporary Recruitment Agency of the Year" 2012. Before starting businesses, Adam worked in the UK and the USA in senior sales and business development positions for OpenTable, Bloomberg and Methods Consulting.
Join Adam Thompson at the World Staffing Summit!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Who Needs Ghosts after Halloween when there's Sasquatch Among Wildmen?
Uncork'd Entertainment
Halloween isn't over yet. Some turn that casual interest in the unknown into a lifetime career. Darcy Weir, an independent documentary filmmaker, is the supernatural explorer who prefers to chase after cryptids than the spooky. Though he grew up in a relatively normal environment, his parents always encouraged him to pursue his interests. Part of it included acting, taking part in local theatre and also working on television. He says Walter Murch is an immense influence, and it shows in the self-made DIY documentaries he made. They have a very story-driven approach. Instead of working in Hollywood, he's producing his own ventures.
Sasquatch and the Wildman is certainly informational. Two years went into the making of this documentary, and the fact it goes to other parts of the world not as well known to explore the myths, taboos and sightings is terrific. We still have the Pacific Northwest connection, but there's more to it than simply visiting Cougar, Washington who turned interest with this beast into a tourist type thing. Less is said about this cryptids influence in local culture and it reveals more about its purpose on this planet.
Weir would love to visit every place this creature has been spotted, but working through the red tape is difficult. Not everyone is aware of this talent. Unlike what television offers with creating that name brand recognition, he's at least known within the community. Some followers of occult programming may recall Beyond the Spectrum, a six-part investigative series (available on demand), and Weir's advice is to see these episodes first before the rest: "Being Taken," "The Humanoids," and "Maussan's UFO Files."
"I actually try to incorporate science and facts into all of my documentaries–things that are testable and repeatable. Besides the fact that hundreds of thousands of people globally have told tales of seeing something that can't be explained as a traditional known human aircraft or simply an ape looking man wearing a fur suit in the woods, I think science–instead of pseudoscience–has a better term for these things. Those names are Cryptids and Unidentified Flying Objects were recently redefined by the United States Defence department UAPs," said Weir.
"I started pursuing these real life stories because sometimes fact is stranger than fiction and more entertaining too. Sometimes monsters and magic come alive, or what we would perceive those things to be at first glance on the silver screen in a fictional tale. I find the real stories that come from the fringes of our cultures around the world more intriguing than a story about somebody who drives a car really fast. If that makes sense to you, let's be friends."
More questions had to be asked, though:
For people who are really serious in this subject, what resources would you say are best?
Anthropologist Dr. Jeffery Meldrum wrote Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science , wildlife biologist John Bindernagle wrote North America's Great Ape: The Sasquatch (highly recommended) and many more scientists like Grover Krantz have built a very credible history of sightings, trace evidence and science backed research to prove the existence of relic hominids living in scarce numbers on our global in deep wilderness.
What made you focus on the Russian and Chinese version of the Sasquatch?
I thought putting some focus on China and Russia would be of service to the theory of Sasquatch having relatives in that part of the world. Russians call their Sasquatch a Yeti, which we all know is famously from the Himalayas too, but the Russian Yeti would resemble a massive 8-10 foot tall Sasquatch like creature, and the Himalayan one would be reported to be much shorter than that. Furthermore, the Russians have the Almas or Almasty which would resemble more of a stalky possibly still existing Neanderthal type being that would sometimes be seen traipsing around the wilderness of Russian mountain forests.
Was there any red tape you had to deal with?
Well, wrangling some folks to be interviewed for my documentaries is always a challenge. First they have to get used to this guy they don't know at all–or trust for that matter–and then they have to get over being camera shy and convincingly present their story. My red tape was more so going back and forth with the folks I interviewed to get their approval of the story I was trying to present.
Did you have any unexplained/scary moments during shooting?
Not really no. Back in 2015 I was shooting my first Sasquatch related documentary and I went out into a dense forested area looking for Sasquatch with some researchers from Canada. I had a close call with my leg and some mosquitoes, but never saw a Sasquatch myself. But, because of the lengthy history from that part of the world from people who have had encounters, I believe they exist.
What's your opinion in why this solitary giant prefers to remain? You'd think by now with all the various fancy tech people can use or rent out (i.e. use Satellite tracking), that we can get closer…
Well, "seek and ye shall find." Maybe not with a satellite though haha. You'd have to account for all kinds of foliage cover and massive zoom distortion in satellite images of our forest floor. But drones have been used on expeditions, wildlife trail cams too and I was at a conference filming this documentary in 2019. What I saw video recorded on night vision, heat sensitive and flir cameras could be described as Sasquatches. Yes, plural. And no solitary giant is not the right way to approach this theory. The very name Bigfoot or Sasquatch sounds solitary but it's a name to describe a tribe of a species of cryptids said to exist in the wild.
Dr. Meldrum hypothesizes that for any healthy black bear population of 500, the same wildlife niche could support a possible 8 of these beings in the wilderness. Anyways, all forms of camera technology, even bird nest cams have caught what looks like upright apes moving through the forest. You just have to look for it mate!
What would you do if you ran into one?
Run the opposite direction and scream so someone knew where I was. Something like that.
What do you have planned next?
I'm not really interested in the ghost phenomena. Chock that up to seeing something you didn't quite understand and letting your fears believe in some corporeal out of body entity haunting an abandoned building as less possible to exist.
I stick to cryptids and the question of are we alone in the universe. There'll be three new films in 2021, coming January and March.
Any parting words?
Wear a mask, wash your hands, avoid large crowds, be good to your mind, your body and the ones you love.
Tags: China, Cryptozoology, Darcy Weir, Documentary, Pacific Northwest, Russia, Uncork'd Entertainment
Categories Fandom, Feature, Film, Television
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Q: Prove that $ \operatorname{det}(A-tI) = \operatorname{det}(A-tI)^T = \operatorname{det}(A^T-tI)$ In a question I'm trying to solve I wrote this statement. My instructor verifies that it is correct but says he'll demand that I prove the statement in the exam. Can anybody point me in the direction?

A: Use the following definition of the determinant:
$$\det(A):=\sum_{\sigma\in\mathfrak{S}_n}\varepsilon(\sigma)\prod_{i=1}^na_{i,\sigma(i)},$$
where $A=(a_{i,j})_{1\leqslant i,j\leqslant n}$, $\mathfrak{S}_n$ is the permutation group on $n$ letters and $\varepsilon$ the signature.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


"This is a spicy and extremely flavorful recipe which will surely be a hit at any BBQ party."
In a large bowl, mix ground lamb, onions, mint, cilantro, ginger paste, and chile paste. Season with cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne, and salt. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Brush grate liberally with oil, and arrange kabobs on grill. Cook for 10 minutes, or until well done, turning as needed to brown evenly.
This is a great, unique BBQ recipe! You may need to add some bread crumbs to the mixture if your ground lamb is moist.


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        .expect(201, 'content of test file\n')
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Tag Archives: devolution
Community Empowerment needs Community Investment
Localism and community empowerment have become very popular ideas across the UK, and indeed internationally, when thinking about how to design and deliver public services. However, the localism agenda has been tackled very differently in Scotland compared to the Rest of UK (RUK). In particular it's important to note that the community empowerment agenda in Scotland maintains a commitment to tackling inequalities – which the RUK agenda does not.
This agenda in Scotland is founded upon the assertion that,
Scotland's communities are a rich source of talent and creative potential and the process of community empowerment helps to unlock that potential. It stimulates and harnesses the energy of local people to come up with creative and successful solutions to local challenges. (Scottish Government, 2009, p. 6)
In this underpinning logic, in the commitment to tackling inequalities, and in many other respects this seems to be a laudable policy as discussed elsewhere (see Lawson and Kearns, 2010).
What hadn't, until now, been explored in any great depth is the extent to which local communities are aware, prepared and willing to engage in the opportunities that might arise through the community empowerment agenda. This research draws on 61 semi-structured interviews with MSPs, MPs, local and community councillors, Audit Scotland officers, public service managers and local residents and activists in a single ward in East Scotland. The findings uncovered three factors that must be in place for community empowerment to be effective: 1) shared strategy; 2) shared resources; and 3) shared accountability.
1. Shared strategy
There was a sense within the community that they had been largely forgotten. It was strongly felt that local residents could not influence decision-making and, even if they could, it wouldn't make any difference. Even elected politicians recognised that there was little by way of social progress and that any investment that was going into communities was largely maintaining the status quo rather than leading to any positive change.
As such community empowerment might help alleviate some of these problems by devolving more decision-making and enhancing collaboration between communities, community group, local government officials and elected politicians. But this also requires certain skills and expertise in order to be effective. Thus a shared strategy is not enough – shared resources and shared accountability are also required.
2. Shared resources
Many participants highlighted how the current system was one based on disempowerment and that resources were centralised and that there were major disparities between the resources of local councils and community groups. Whilst the community empowerment agenda does include opportunities for communities to take ownership of more resources there was also a fear from participants that this move to greater sharing of resources had only come about as the council were attempting to make significant service cuts and therefore this was motivated by offloading costs to communities rather than truly from a sense of empowerment.
3. Shared accountability
Much of the discussion highlighted a long-standing cynicism and mistrust of the local council by residents, activists and public service managers. It is notable that Scotland has one of the highest levels of centralised power in Europe (32 municipalities compared to 434, 98 and 342 in countries of a similar size – Norway, Denmark and Finland). Thus many participants expressed a significant lack of enthusiasm for community empowerment and indeed there was a questioning of the idea of 'community' at all. Largely, those from affluent parts of the community had little appetite for community empowerment as the system was seen to work well for them already, whilst those in less affluent parts of the community had little appetite for community empowerment due to a lack of trust.
Overall the research highlighted a wide range of problems within the current system: around the lack of representation; the lack of engagement with communities; the unequal distribution of resources; and a widespread lack of enthusiasm for greater community empowerment. The Community Empowerment agenda in Scotland represents a positive move towards tackling some of these long-standing problems within the current system. Yet without systemic investment in a shared strategy, shared resources and shared accountability mechanisms the potential of this agenda is not likely to be seen.
This research was conducted with Violetta Fejszes and Mariola Tàrrega and has now been published in the International Journal of Public Services Management. The article can be downloaded for FREE up to 50 times via this link: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/eprint/YIXHQUNF6XVXCPNRVQXI/full
When free downloads are no longer available it will also be available here: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/IJPSM-03-2018-0080
Tagged austerity, community, community empowerment, devolution, local democracy, localism, public administration


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Analysis: Vaccine bond sales to soar to fund COVID-19 shots for poor countries
FILE PHOTO: The word "COVID-19" is reflected in a drop on a syringe needle in this illustration taken November 9, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
By Karin Strohecker and Tommy Wilkes
LONDON (Reuters) – Socially conscious bond investors will be targeted in a coming wave of vaccine bond deals that will seek to provide billions of dollars for the speedy rollout of COVID-19 shots for developing countries.
Dedicated vaccine bonds have been deployed before, but the immediate COVID-19 funding needs should lead to large amounts of new issuance in 2021.
"There is no doubt that investors value the Social label on public sector debt issuance and vaccination is the ultimate social project," said Philip Brown, Citi's head of sustainable debt capital markets, who helped to sell a vaccine bond in October.
"This is going to be an important theme in 2021…We need a bigger effort now, which involves huge sums of money up front."
The total cost of immunising the developing world is difficult to gauge, but is expected to be in the tens of billions of dollars.
The GAVI vaccine alliance said last week a joint facility with the World Health Organisation to buy and distribute COVID-19 shots in 92 poor countries needed nearly $5 billion next year to deliver 1.3 billion doses. That sum, on top of $2.1 billion already secured, may prove an underestimate if the per-dose cost proves higher than forecast.
Cyrus Ardalan, Board Chair of The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), which raises funding for GAVI, estimated that between a quarter and half of GAVI's COVID-19 funding needs would be met through IFFIm bonds.
He told Reuters he was "very confident" of at least one or two new bond launches in 2021.
"The key is in my mind to see how well GAVI is able to mobilise resources and secure vaccines so that we have an equitable distribution across countries globally," he said. "Emerging market countries are extremely vulnerable."
Double-A rated IFFIm is designed to roll forward future donor pledges into cash-in-hand for vaccination programmes today. It raised $500 million in October through its first vaccine benchmark bond in three years in a more than three times oversubscribed deal.
Geneva-based GAVI, which has secured hundreds of millions of doses of AstraZeneca's candidate vaccine, aims to pay for at least the first one billion doses of approved vaccines and is targeting 20% population coverage in poor countries.
The sums needed are huge.
International organisations estimated that vaccinating a fifth of Latin America and the Caribbean could cost more than $2 billion while rolling this out to priority populations in Africa would come to nearly $6 billion.
"We don't know what it is going to cost – the reason is that we don't know what the full complement of vaccines are, what the yield of those vaccines are at scale, whether they are going to be two dose vaccines, one dose vaccines, etc.," GAVI CEO, Seth Berkley, told reporters last week.
SOCIAL BOND BOOM
Not just GAVI is turning to bond markets.
The African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank's International Finance Corporation and sovereigns such as Indonesia and Peru have all issued bonds in 2020 with proceeds tied to tackling COVID-19 and mitigating the economic downturn, although not specifically to pay for vaccines.
Social bond issuance has soared in 2020, thanks to growing interest in ethical investment and more governments and agencies wanting to use them to fund socially beneficial projects. Such bond sales hit $163.7 billion year-to-date, almost twelve times 2019 levels, based on Refinitiv data.
"We expect a large amount of social bond issuance in 2021. We expect the market to become more organised and it's going to become increasingly investor-led," said Credit Agricole's head of sustainable banking, Tanguy Claquin, who worked on IFFIm's October bond.
Given the cost of vaccinating the 3.5 billion people living in low and lower-middle income countries, bankers familiar with the sector said development banks such as the AfDB could start raising bond finance linked to vaccination rollouts.
Citi's Brown said launching entirely new funding institutions would take too much time.
"It makes sense to use market structures that are already in place."
(Editing by Jane Merriman)


What do innovation pioneers like Apple and Tesla leverage daily – a cult of loyal fans spreading their message. When it comes to marketing success, building loyal fans with your audience just works.
1:40 Does Mr. Money Mustache only eat celery?
10:45 Why an App instead of a podcast or vlogging?
But Why Is He Eating Celery in his Publicity Photo?
In order to help you get a feel for who Mr. Money Mustache is, let's talk for a minute about the publicity photo he gave us to use for Fincon.
It's Pete (his real name), in a tree in his backyard, eating a stalk of celery. Why? This is what you need to know about him: Pete is not your average online entrepreneur. He's funny and he's not interested in the traditional style of slick headshots or traditional anything.
Every time someone asks him for a publicity photo, he will climb that tree and pose, slowly work his way through a rotation of healthy vegetables.
For many entrepreneurs, their number one goal is to retire young and not have to spend their days at an office anymore. That all sounds amazing, but if you don't have a plan for how you will spend your days, you can quickly find yourself gaining 30 lbs and spending hours on the couch binging Netflix.
Pete retired in his early thirties, so he has a lot of life to fill without resorting to Netflix binging. He definitely plans out his days with intention, beginning them with a super early rising and jogging down to a co-working space he has bought. He does some cleaning and then heads to the training space out back for weight training. He may do some computer work while he is there, too.
He does all of the construction on the working space, always with a project going to continue to grow the space itself. He has built what feels like a coffee shop environment for the current 60 members who come there to share the workspace.
Instead of beginning the day lounging in bed with coffee, Pete likes to begin his days with activity and structure. It seems to set the tone for the rest of the day and keeps him moving. It boosts his creativity to begin his days with more strenuous activity.
Anyone with an online business can tell you that it is all too easy to get sucked into spending more time on those online relationships than on the ones in your real life. And yes, obviously, online relationships are real, but there is something to be said for those face-to-face hours spent with the people in your life who are physically present.
As a highly successful blogger for almost 8 years now, Pete has experienced the high that comes with skyrocketing pageviews and having your stuff shared online. He knows what it feels like to have people wanting to meet you and who say good things about what you create. What he also knows, however, is that those types of things will never bring the deep soul satisfaction of real relationships with people, face-to-face, who can actually spend time together and share life together.
You can imagine that after several years of blogging, a person might get a little burned out on writing more content or keeping it coming.
Pete admits that he doesn't write as much now as he used to but not because he's burned out. He has been pouring the majority of his work time into the co-working space and into local relationships. However, he hasn't run out of things to say.
He continues to have strong opinions on the state of personal finance and how he sees it playing out in the world. The problem is that nobody in real life wants to listen to him rant about it. Watching real life play out does provide him with things to say but he currently only posts a couple of times per month, whereas he used to post every other day.
He's not hurting for content, though. The blog has over 500 articles on it and an app to make reading all of them easier for anyone new to the site.
With the sheer amount of content on the blog and with things still to say, I was really curious why Pete hasn't chosen to start a podcast or do video blogging. Why an app instead of one of those other platforms?
The answer is pretty simple: self-awareness. Pete realized that he had a tendency to say yes to projects and get excited about them but then not follow through. It's all too easy to start something new and then let it fizzle out simply because you overcommitted at the beginning. Realizing this about himself has allowed Pete to move more slowly before adding new projects to the things he's already doing.
Pete does actually have a love of video, especially the type of video that is the fast-moving, around town style. But before he will allow himself to start that, he has some self-imposed conditions that he must meet, like writing more on his main blog and publishing a book.
No matter what you're selling or what type of content you're providing, the point is not to have a bunch of followers. It's to have followers that are so loyal, so dedicated, that they share what you do with their friends and family. This allows you to focus more on content creation and let your audience do your marketing for you.
Think about companies like Apple and Tesla. These companies have a cult-like following. If you can give your audience a sense of being connected to you and to your other readers, if you can make them feel like they are in a special group of people who read your blog and have the same belief system, you have created more than a blog following. You are giving them an identity and that will bring them back again and again.
When you don't feel like writing, just start. That's the only solution to not feeling like writing. Turn on that computer, open the drafts folder or click on new post, and start typing whatever junk flows out.
This causes the creative juices to start flowing and soon enough, the junk stops flowing and you start writing things worth sharing.
Hear from over 200 speakers, like Mr. Money Mustache, at FinCon18 September 26-29 in Orlando, Florida. Register for your pass today!


Tips on How to Host a Cookie Exchange party everyone will love.
Simple Homemade Hot Cocoa Recipe the kids will love for those cold snowy days.
This Easy Apple Crumble Recipe is quick to put together and full of warm cinnamon and apple flavor. A delicious dessert the family will love for the holidays.


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Mid-Missouri Solidarity March
This past weekend I photographed the Mid-Missouri Solidarity March in downtown Columbia. Columbia isn't that big of a city, so I was surprised to see thousands show up to the march through the streets. It wasn't like being in D.C., or even Kansas City or St.Louis, but Columbia has its own spirit to it which I think was present in the march. There were a lot of students, but also quite a few families who brought their children along.
I'm glad I could be a witness and document this time of transition in our country, even if it was just in Mid-Missouri.
A few of my favorite images are below:
Matthew Romero Moore shouts, "Who will survive in America?" during the Mid-Missouri Solidarity March in downtown Columbia on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Romero Moore said he yelled the phrase in reference to a Kanye West song. "First it starts with someone else and then it's you. We should fight for the rights of everyone," Romero Moore said.
Participants throw up peace signs as they cross the intersection of Broadway Blvd and 9th Street as they head toward the Columbia Courthouse.
A boy uses an iphone to film the marchers from across the street.
Violet Sieli,8, picks up the sign she made with her family for the Mid-Missouri Solidarity March in Columbia on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.
Violet Sieli, 8, picks up the signs she helped make with her family for the Mid-Missouri Solidarity March in downtown Columbia. Violet was dressed as a sufferagette from the 1930s, while her older sister, Stella, 10, was dressed as Rosie the Riveter. The girls thought of the costumes themselves to represent their support for feminism.
Jeannie Grant carried her dog, Brooklyn, who she dressed up in an equal sign outfit for the march to represent her support for equality for all.
Participants cheer after cars honked in support of the march.
A woman wearing a "pussy hat" holds up a sign that reads, "We the people…" after the march while the participants met at the Columbia Courthouse Plaza. Pussy hats were worn my marchers across the country in reference to President Donald Trump's remarks toward grabbing female genitals.
Thousands gathered at the march to express their opinions on a variety of social justice issues.
Gabe Montie, 15, raises a fist in solidarity as organizers of the march address the crowd.
January 25, 2017 January 25, 2017 mikalacomptonLeave a comment
Inspiration through others
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/how-science-helps-us-understand-gender-identity/
This photo essay, by Lynn Johnson, focuses on different gender identities and expressions. The topic interests me more than the style of the essay. It partially feels like an environmental portrait series, which I admire, but I don't find the photos where the subject acknowledges the camera as powerful as the photos that seem more documentary styled. They give a peek into their lives and open up to a conversation about gender that is extremely important. The topic of gender identity and expression is beginning to become less taboo, especially with trans-celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner and Lavern Cox. This story goes deeper than trans-men or trans-women and gives recognition to other gender identities and expressions.
This inspired me to find stories of similar value that haven't been given this much attention before.


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Álvaro Pino Counago (* 17. August 1956 in Ponteareas, Spanien) ist ein ehemaliger spanischer Radrennfahrer und Sportlicher Leiter.

Karriere
Seine Profikarriere dauerte von 1981 bis 1991. Als guter Bergfahrer konnte er die Vuelta a España 1986 für sich entscheiden. 1988 gewann er die Bergwertung der Spanienrundfahrt. Bei der  Tour de France hatte er fünf Starts, sein bestes Ergebnis im Gesamtklassement war der jeweils 8. Platz 1985 und 1988. Bei seinen beiden Starts beim Giro d'Italia war Platz achtzehn 1983 das bessere Ergebnis.

Nach seiner Profikarriere blieb Álvaro Pino dem Radsport treu und war Sportlicher Leiter der Teams Kelme, Phonak Cycling Team und Karpin-Galicia.

Wichtigste Erfolge
1981
 einer Etappe Spanienrundfahrt
1986
 Gesamtwertung und eine Etappe Spanienrundfahrt
1987
 Gesamtwertung Katalonien-Rundfahrt
1988
 zwei Etappen und Bergwertung Spanienrundfahrt
1989
 eine Etappe Spanienrundfahrt

Weblinks

Einzelnachweise

Radsportler (Spanien)
Vuelta-a-España-Sieger
Sportlicher Leiter
Spanier
Geboren 1956
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Driven by the Marcellus and Utica shale plays, Appalachia will easily be the largest supplier of new natural gas in the U.S. In fact, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio are the basis of the 700 trillion cubic feet of gas that our nation can produce when prices are $3 per MMBtu or less. For example, breakeven prices in the Marcellus to extract gas are now just $2 for some producers.
Along with mighty Texas of course, the entire nation, particularly the "we like to use gas but don't wanna produce gas" huge importing states of New England (gas is 55% of power), California (gas is 60% of power), New York (gas is 57% of power), and Florida (gas is 67% of power), should be thanking Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio for supplying increasing amounts of natural gas - now our most vital source of electricity and the fuel that has led to drastic declines in CO2 emissions in the power sector, now at 30-year lows. West Virginia, yes West Virginia, has increased production this year alone by 0.7 Bcf/d to over 4.6 Bcf/d. And as acreage in the Permian basin (our second most vital gas field, after the Marcellus) becomes more expensive (here), the Northeast will become even more important for those states that "like to use but not produce."
Being a new major gas producing region, entire Appalachia needs more gas infrastructure to move gas to markets. We keep hearing about the pushback on pipelines, but make no mistake: the buildout is on. In charge of approving interstate pipelines, FERC in 2016 approved almost 40 major pipeline projects across the country, covering 1,200 miles, over 14 Bcf/d of new capacity (total national consumption is around 75 Bcf/d), and over $10 billion in new investment.
Most of these pipelines are indeed getting approved in the eastern third of the U.S., with a concentration in the Marcellus and Utica shale states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. Figure 1 illustrates an overview of FERC's certification process for nine major new pipeline projects in the region. FERC has actually lacked quorum since early-February, and as an independent agency now has two possible Republicans (Neil Chatterjee, Robert Powelson) coming on board with a Democrat (Richard Glick). Perhaps most important is the 100% subscribed, 3.25 Bcf/d Rover pipeline taking Appalachia shale gas into eastern Michigan and up into Dawn Hub in Canada. Rover is so instrumental that when it was first halted for construction by FERC on May 10 natural gas prices actually surged to 14-week highs ("A Single Pipeline's Taking U.S. Gas on a Rollercoaster Ride").
Pipelines are good investments. I've been fixated on the similar to Rover routed NEXUS pipeline, which has not yet been FERC approved but could have a 14% return on equity. And don't forget: due to a "pro-fossil fuel approach," midstream firms jumped in stock price after November's election (from Forbes, "Oil And Gas Industry Buoyed By Trump Election").
The Rover pipeline will be the largest gas pipeline ever constructed in the northeast.
As natural gas continues to rise in the U.S. electric power system, doubling its market share of our power generation to 35% since 2005, more infrastructure to move gas is crucial. Again, a headline not from Fox News but from The New York Times: "Shale Gas to the Climate Rescue." That fact is clear: more natural gas is the primary reason why the U.S. power sector is UNIQUELY lowering CO2 emissions, when compared to other sectors. Check U.S. Department of Energy data here.
So around the country (and globally really), there is a growing push to utilize natural gas to supply reliable electricity, reduce emissions, and cleanly backup intermittent wind and solar power. Just think of New England, where gas is now nearly 60% of all electricity, but many residents remain opposed to more infrastructure to bring that gas in, so unfortunately imports of more expensive and more risky liquefied natural gas from Yemen are required. Take Ohio, a critical incremental gas producing state, pipelines are now maxed, so more are needed to expand production. Measuring 2.6 Bcf/d at the Chandlersville-to-Clarington westbound segment, the Rockies Express pipeline is already 100% utilized.
But, the Northeast gas pipelines are indeed coming, perhaps more than 20 of them, with some 18-20 Bcf/d of new takeaway capacity by 2022. This will allow this once constrained gas market to continually reach even more end-users downstream and increase gas-on-gas competition. In fact, Appalachia gas will be fueling mushrooming gas power plants across the country and even distant LNG export terminals along the Gulf. Natural gas is surging toward being 50% of all U.S. generation capacity.
Indeed, moving forward it will be production that will need to keep up so pipes don't face under utilization rates. Low prices have producers growing within their means. For example, Range and Antero, subscribed to coming pipeline expansion projects Rover and Leach XPress, are currently producing near their full-year 2017 guidance targets, meaning that near-term output growth could be limited. The pipeline build will support multi-year growth plans for U.S. natural gas producers.
More pipelines will allow upstream gas to reach downstream markets that value it highest. U.S. gas consumers should know that our widening pipeline buildout will create more price uniformity across regions, putting your local differential more on par with benchmark Henry Hub. Supply hubs such as Dominion South for the Marcellus has traded at a significant discount (now around a $1 or so) to Henry Hub due to a mismatch between supply and demand in the region. But ultimately, remember that pipelines will expand the customer base but they also allow much more gas to come online, so the impact of them is clearly positive. Expect a 6-8% increase for U.S. gas production by the end of 2018, with even more upside potential long-term: "Trump to Call for U.S. 'Dominance' in Global Energy Production."


If you are looking for a way to fast track a career in the rapidly growing medical field, then you should strongly consider earning your phlebotomy certification in Rosharon TX. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Careers in the medical industry are expected to grow faster than any other industry between now and the year 2020. The overall job growth average is 14%, but for the medical field it's hovering at around 30%. So, phlebotomy training is your quick ticket to a stable career.
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The schools offered below are offered by excellent, schools and come high recommended as viable choices for most students.
If you're looking for a quick way to enter the nation's fastest growing job market, this is it. By earning your phlebotomy certification in Rosharon TX you will be setting yourself up for a career in the medical field that pays well and offers long term stability.
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